A Devastated Area in Ibaragi Prefecture May 1, 201

On April 28, I visited Takahagi Elementary School in Ibaragi prefecture.
Located in the northern part of Ibaragi prefecture, the school is faced by the Pacific Ocean and is blessed with rich nature.
The damage from the tsunami in this area was not in a great extent, but the devastation from the earthquake was substantial.  The children in this area had been frightened for days as electricity and water had not been available for several days after the earthquake.  And now they are scared of invisible radiation.

I became involved with a project under which we have children in disaster areas draw some pictures or write messages and those will be exhibited in a gallery in New York.  106 students from the 4^th and 5^th grades of Takahagi Elementary School are participating in this project, representing children in Ibaragi Prefecture.


First, a teacher introduced me to the students.
“This young lady came from a town called Onagawa in the Sanriku region.  Her house was washed away by the tsunami and she lost her mother and father.
She is here to take photos of you and your activities today.”
Then 212 eyes gazed at me all together.
What would it mean that people are dead and houses are lost?

Children became vivid when they started drawing pictures.
A child drawing with many colors.  A child writing a message with an ink-brush-style pen.  A child writing with a big, strong stroke.  A child writing “Supporting Each Other” in a thin, narrow stroke.

Common feeling among them is “Life”--- That is what I felt.  

Gazing at me and my engagement in taking photos, one of the girls asked me if it was true that I lost my (parents’) home.  She must have felt uneasy while asking me such a question.  She grabbed my arms gently and said, “I hope you will find your parents soon.”

It seems that these girls wanted to help me.  One of the students said, “You, too, keep your chin up, Sister!  We are with you!”
While I was taking photos, another child asked me, “Do you know about radiation?  I want to know if my school is safe.”
Even though they want to ask their teachers and parents about radiation, no one really knows the situation regarding radiation.  Living in this town means that these children have to face such risk.

I myself have lived with the situation of Onagawa nuclear power plant.  I know painfully the situation that these children are placed in.

Stress from the earthquake devastation and double calamity of nuclear power and earthquake.
I want to brighten the future of these children.

The photos of these children will be exhibited in New York as well to inform the world of the children who are making the best of their lives in the devastated areas.  Then we will bring the exhibition back to Japan and tell the children living in the disaster areas that they are connected to the world, which hopefully will bring about confidence.  It is a tiny activity but I myself too will be able to recover from this hardship.  As a child grabbed my arm and whispered to me, I want to be such a presence to others.